Businesses are ready to hire, but the jobs have changed and qualified candidates are harder to find. Job seekers need new skills to keep up with ever-changing demands. People of all backgrounds find themselves lost in a maze and yesterday’s answers are not enough. Too few job counselors are equipped to help students and adults. SectorReady™Read More

The annual gathering of the region’s best in employment, education, workforce, and economic development happens 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Tuesday, September 22nd at Downstream Resort. The theme for the 2015 Heartland Workforce Summit is Journey to Sector Excellence. The theme is inspired by success in career ready job candidates and work ready communities, theRead More

Missouri met one of the first major milestones for implementing WIOA. Missouri’s core workforce partners executed the official state-level MOU showing the commitment to improve collaboration at the state and local levels. This is important to workforce professionals at the local level as the MOU provides the tools to increase collaboration and braid resources locally, accordingRead More

Missouri ranks last in the nation for welfare reform policies and has the nation’s lowest work participation performance according to the Heartland Institute. Help is on the way thanks to new leadership at the Family Support Division empowered by Senate Bill 24. According to Senator David Sater of Cassville, SB24’s sponsor, this comprehensive reform emphasizes work whileRead More

The unbundling of education and innovations in career pathways point toward a brighter future. The Institute for Credentialing Excellence provides an excellent of the emerging role for Digital Badges. This ICE Digest article covers the bases of opportunities, methods, challenges, and benefits. Fortune 500 employers confirmed their optimism in focus group research conducted by Professional Examination Service.Read More

Officials from Owens-Corning joined local and state leaders to announce a $90 million investment with more than 100 new jobs coming to Joplin. As reported in the Joplin Regional Business Journal, President of Owens Corning Insulation Julian Francis said the company became interested in locating in the area based on Jasper County’s status as an ACTRead More

Closing in on completing its Work Ready goals, Ottawa County held its official public launch of CWRC. County leaders gathered to celebrate the CWRC launch June 23rd at the Coleman Theater in Miami. While Oklahoma pioneered the local work ready initiative for its counties, Ottawa is the first in the Sooner State to “light up” inRead More

Ensuring robust economic growth, a thriving middle class, and broadly shared prosperity will require a significant expansion of the skills and knowledge of American workers over the next few decades. That’s the call to action for the Communities that Work (CTW) initiative through the Aspen Institute and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The Joplin RegionalRead More